Abstract: An endoscopic intracorporeal suture tying aid allows a suture to be looped around itself multiple times and cinched, enabling a throw of a surgeon's knot to be easily made. The tying aid includes a needle holder connected to a proximal end of a shaft for releasably holding a needle; a hook that slides longitudinally with respect to the beaks; and the shaft being axially rotatable with respect to the hook.

Abstract: A drill guide is disclosed including a sleeve mounted on a handle. The sleeve of the drill guide has a bore which is dimensioned for slidably receiving a bit sizing ferrule therein. The bit sizing ferrule has a sized bore for demountably inserting a drill bit or other instrument therein having a particular width.

Abstract: An endoscopic intracorporeal suture tying aid allows a suture to be looped around itself multiple times and cinched, enabling a throw of a surgeon's knot to be easily made. The tying aid includes a needle holder connected to a proximal end of a shaft for releasably holding a needle; a hook that slides longitudinally with respect to the beaks; and the shaft being axially rotatable with respect to the hook.

Abstract: A wound closure device employs a porous bonding member which receives a flowable adhesive capable of providing long term wound support. The bonding member is positioned by a carrier member that is used to achieve initial apposition of the wound and which may later be removed. An intermediate barrier may be provided between the bonding pad and the wound site. Alternatively, a rigid applicator may be utilized for positioning the bonding pad at the wound site. The closure device can include a supply of flowable adhesive for adhering the bonding member to the skin of the patient. Suitable flowable adhesives are cyanoacrylates. A form of packaging supports the wound closure member for preapplication of the adhesive and can serve as a part of a sterile barrier package. In one embodiment, strips are placed on opposite margins of a wound which have porous portions.

Abstract: A linear surgical stapling instrument includes a magazine for holding a plurality of undeformed surgical staples, and an upper jaw carrying the magazine and having opposed distal and proximal ends. An anvil is formed with staple-deforming pockets, and a lower jaw carries the anvil and has opposing distal and proximal ends respectively configured to mate with the distal and proximal ends of the upper jaw thereby to place the magazine and the anvil in confronting relation. A staple driver is carried in the upper jaw for driving staples held therein toward the anvil. Further, the upper and lower jaws are configured such that, when their respective distal and proximal ends are mated, a gap exists between the jaws in an intermediate region between their respective distal and proximal ends.

Abstract: A wound closure device employs a porous bonding member which receives a flowable adhesive capable of providing long term wound support. The bonding member is positioned by a carrier member that is used to achieve initial apposition of the wound and which may later be removed. An intermediate barrier may be provided between the bonding pad and the wound site. Alternatively, a rigid applicator may be utilized for positioning the bonding pad at the wound site. The closure device can include a supply of flowable adhesive for adhering the bonding member to the skin of the patient. Suitable flowable adhesives are cyanoacrylates. A form of packaging supports the wound closure member for preapplication of the adhesive and can serve as a part of a sterile barrier package.

Abstract: Upon inhalation of air from the interior of a housing, a flexible diaphragm-type valve exposed to the ambient air surrounding the housing is moved inwardly due to the difference in ambient air pressure to that in the housing to expose the interior of the housing to the ambient air which is then drawn into the housing. Upon movement of the valve, it strikes a lever connected to a toggle linkage arrangement, causing the lever to pivot to break the toggle linkage, enabling a coil spring to extend and move a dispensing nozzle into contact with the valve stem of a medicant-containing, aerosol valve actuated, bottle. The valve stem is urged upwardly by the nozzle and moved into the interior of the bottle dispensing a dose of the medicant to be mixed with the inhaled air, which is inhaled by the user.

Abstract: A reservoir outlet control device for controlling fluid flow from a reservoir. The device is particularly suitable for controlling fluid outflow from a blood collecting and blood delivery reservoir.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to a protector in the form of a rigid plastic disk which bites into and displaces material on the shell portion of a needle cover cap to protect a user from accidental sticks injuries while recapping the needle.

Abstract: An autotransfuser that includes, in a single receptacle, a pair of chambers separated by a common wall. Each receptacle can alternately perform, a blood infusion or blood collection function. Each chamber includes at least three inlets/outlets, a blood inlet, a blood outlet and an air inlet means In some embodiments of the invention the air inlet means serves alternately to couple either an air or a pressure source on the one hand or a vacuum source on the other hand to the corresponding chamber. In other embodiments of the invention, the air inlet means comprises a vacuum inlet and a separate air or pressure inlet. A disk like device or valve manifold is arranged for rotatable movement adjacent the inlets/outlets. The disk like device includes four channels, one for each of air or pressure, vacuum, blood collection and blood infusion. Each channel includes a port for coupling to external tubing and at least one channel end.

Abstract: An autotransfuser includes, in a single receptacle, a pair of chambers separated by a common wall. Each receptacle can alternately perform a blood infusion or blood collection function. Each chamber includes at least three inlets/outlets, a blood inlet, a blood outlet and an air inlet. In some embodiments of the invention the air inlet serves alternately to couple either an air or a pressure source on the one hand or a vacuum source on the other hand to the corresponding chamber. In other embodiments of the invention, the air inlet comprises a vacuum inlet and a separate air or pressure inlet. A disk like device or valve manifold is arranged for rotatable movement adjacent the inlets/outlets. The disk like device includes four channels, one for each of air or pressure, vacuum, blood inlet and blood infusion. Each channel includes a port for coupling to external tubing and at least one channel end.

Abstract: A surgical stapler for implanting and clinching staples in the body of a patient employs a reciprocally movable, retractable anvil and a reciprocally movable former for forming a staple about the end of the retractable anvil. A toggle is mounted in a stapler trigger which simultaneously actuates the former and toggle. The toggle removes the anvil end into and out of the path of the former whereby desired release of a formed staple from the anvil is assured following clinching of the staple ends.

Abstract: A device for securing a catheter or like instrument to a patient comprises a first portion having an adhesive surface for securing that portion to the skin of a patient. A second portion is hingedly connected to the first portion and is adapted to fold thereover. The second portion has an adhesive surface to provide securement to the first portion when folded thereover. A slot and a hole are preferably associated with the first and second portions, respectively, for operably positioning the second portion around a catheter, which has been previously connected to the patient, so that the catheter extends through the plane formed by the second portion. This arrangement thereby facilitates the securement of the catheter in place on the patient.A method of securing a previously connected catheter or like instrument to a patient includes securing a device substantially as described above to a patient.

Abstract: There is disclosed a night vision imaging system for mounting on a helmet. The helmet contains a visor having a slot into which is inserted a helmet mount assembly which can be vertically adjusted within the slot by means of a control mechanism including a rotatable knob. The mount assembly is an arcuate planar member conforming to the surface of the helmet and contains two "U" shaped receptacles for receiving two pivots located on a central fork support frame. The fork frame has two adjacent tines which are secured within two slots contained in a gear box. Coupled to the gear box are right and left carriage assemblies which interface with the gear box by means of a first threaded shaft to afford eye relief adjustment and a second rod assembly to afford tilt adjustment. Each carriage assembly is symmetrically positioned on the right and left sides of the gear box assembly and are coupled to a first and a second unity power image intensifier telescope housing containing an image intensifier tube.

Abstract: A wound closure tape applicator has an elongated trapeziform casing partitioned into a front supply chamber for a roll of adhesive tape carried on a backing strip or liner and a trapeziform rear storage chamber for collecting waste backing strip. Front and bottom walls of the casing form a tape outlet slot in a lower front corner of the supply chamber. A cylindrical post extending horizontally between the casing sidewalls internally adjacent the slot guides the tape downwardly along the front wall. A front end portion of the bottom wall projects upwardly close to the underside of the post and guides the liner rearwardly to peel it away from the tape as the latter is pulled downwardly through the opening. A false bottom wall in the casing guides the liner rearwardly along the bottom wall beneath the partition into the rear chamber.